Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
"Ghosts and vampires are never only about ghosts and vampires."
Tales about vampires are countless, there are many different types of vampire - some can fly, some won't cast any shadow and have no reflection, there are even some vampires who have the ability to transform themselves into werewolves. But generally when we think about vampires, they are referred to as the undead, those who do not need most normal things required for human life, who often have unholy supernatural abilities, and most importantly, they are powerfully attractive evils who desire human blood.
The classic vampire story often follow similar patterns: An old man, incredibly attractive but holds to corrupt and evil values which are threats to the vitality and purity of young women. Some eventually will satisfy their desires, and the life, the energy and virtue are taken from the victims, blood is often drained and is replaced by the evil nature of vampires, leaving the victim helpless followers in their sins. A typical example would be Dracula (1987) - the prince of darkness. Some people would argue that not all vampires are the same, most vampires written in today's novel are more towards the good side. For example, Edward Cullen from Twilight (2005), and Simon Lewis from The mortal Instrument series (2007), who both share the characteristics of loving, caring, brave, again attractive, and they attempt to control themselves from hurting the innocents, which made them seem unique/ different from the evil vampires. But however, the nature of vampire is not something that can be changed easily, underneath their friendly gesture, they are still dangerous - can we say that Edward never wanted to bite Bella, or can we say that Simon never wanted to bite Isabelle? Despite their self-control, they still want exactly what Dracula wants - the blood of an innocent young woman. After all, Edward is still the one who creeps into Bella's bedroom, and Simon is still the one who bites Maureen, which made her the evilest vampire ever later in the series.
We can conclude that vampires are always about something else other than themselves - writers use them to symbolize certain things about our everyday existence. However, the vampire is not necessarily a vampire with fangs and a long black cape. A vampire is any character who represents the idea of selfishness, exploitation, a refusal to accept that other people have the right to exist. Furthermore, vampires could be seen as a reflection on the society or the behaviors of an individual : denying someone else's right to live, placing our own ugly desires above the needs of someone else. We are all vampires, "as long as people act in selfish ways, the vampire will be with us."
Tales about vampires are countless, there are many different types of vampire - some can fly, some won't cast any shadow and have no reflection, there are even some vampires who have the ability to transform themselves into werewolves. But generally when we think about vampires, they are referred to as the undead, those who do not need most normal things required for human life, who often have unholy supernatural abilities, and most importantly, they are powerfully attractive evils who desire human blood.
The classic vampire story often follow similar patterns: An old man, incredibly attractive but holds to corrupt and evil values which are threats to the vitality and purity of young women. Some eventually will satisfy their desires, and the life, the energy and virtue are taken from the victims, blood is often drained and is replaced by the evil nature of vampires, leaving the victim helpless followers in their sins. A typical example would be Dracula (1987) - the prince of darkness. Some people would argue that not all vampires are the same, most vampires written in today's novel are more towards the good side. For example, Edward Cullen from Twilight (2005), and Simon Lewis from The mortal Instrument series (2007), who both share the characteristics of loving, caring, brave, again attractive, and they attempt to control themselves from hurting the innocents, which made them seem unique/ different from the evil vampires. But however, the nature of vampire is not something that can be changed easily, underneath their friendly gesture, they are still dangerous - can we say that Edward never wanted to bite Bella, or can we say that Simon never wanted to bite Isabelle? Despite their self-control, they still want exactly what Dracula wants - the blood of an innocent young woman. After all, Edward is still the one who creeps into Bella's bedroom, and Simon is still the one who bites Maureen, which made her the evilest vampire ever later in the series.
We can conclude that vampires are always about something else other than themselves - writers use them to symbolize certain things about our everyday existence. However, the vampire is not necessarily a vampire with fangs and a long black cape. A vampire is any character who represents the idea of selfishness, exploitation, a refusal to accept that other people have the right to exist. Furthermore, vampires could be seen as a reflection on the society or the behaviors of an individual : denying someone else's right to live, placing our own ugly desires above the needs of someone else. We are all vampires, "as long as people act in selfish ways, the vampire will be with us."